Turner Freeman Lawyers are expert motor vehicle and car accident lawyers who can manage compensation claims for all types of personal injury resulting from motor vehicle accidents. Injuries include spinal injury, head injury, fracture, whiplash, soft tissue and eye injury as well as shock, anxiety and depression.

Our ‘No Win – No Fee‘ policy is available for motor vehicle accident compensation claims and we offer home or hospital visits if you are too ill to come to us.

Claiming for Compensation in QLD

If you receive any kind of injury in an accident caused by the driver of a car or motor vehicle, whether you are another driver, passenger, pedestrian or cyclist, we can help. We can assist with lodging a motor vehicle claim to help you claim damages compensation for any losses you have suffered because of the injury.

We can also help you investigate whether you can claim through your superannuation such as income protection.

We can help

FAQ

I have been injured in a car accident. Can I claim?

Can I claim compensation if I was injured in a car accident or motor vehicle accident?

Most likely. There are only a few circumstances that would stop you from claiming. Here are some frequently asked questions relating to claiming compensation for car accidents that you may wish to explore with your car accident lawyer:

Passenger injured – driver at fault

If you are a passenger in a car or vehicle and you suffered injuries as a result of the driver causing the accident; yes you have a claim.

Passenger injured – driver of other vehicle at fault

If you are a passenger in a car or vehicle and you suffered injuries as a result of the driver of the other vehicle causing the accident; yes you have a claim.

Driver injured – driver of other vehicle at fault

If you are the driver of a vehicle and you suffered injuries as a result of the driver of the other vehicle who caused the accident, yes you have a claim.

Passenger or Driver injured – driver of other vehicle drunk

If you are a passenger or the driver of a vehicle and you suffered injuries caused by the driver of other vehicle who is charged with drink driving; yes you have a claim.

Passenger injured – driver of your vehicle drunk

If you are a passenger and you suffered injuries as a result of the driver of your vehicle, who was drunk or over the limit; yes you have a claim.

Accident caused by driver of vehicle which is unregistered

If you suffer injuries due to a car accident caused by the driver of vehicle and if the registration of that vehicle has expired; yes you have a claim

Please note - very short time limits apply for making this claim and you should seek legal advice urgently. You only have three (3) months from the date of accident or injury to lodge the claim form or one (1) month from your first meeting with a lawyer about the claim, whichever is earlier.

Hit and Run accident

If you are run down or hit by another vehicle and the driver leaves the accident scene and you don't know the registration number of the vehicle; yes you have a claim.

Please note - very short time limits apply for making this claim and you should seek legal advice as soon as possible to protect your rights as you only have three (3) months from the date of accident or injury to lodge the claim form or one (1) month from your first meeting with a lawyer about the claim (whichever is earlier).

I'm a pedestrian and I was hit by a car on a road

If you are walking along a road or crossing a road and you are hit by a car; yes you have a claim.

I'm a bicycle or push bike rider and I was hit by a car or truck on a road?

Yes, you have a claim.

I have suffered whiplash and the accident was not my fault. Is a whiplash injury serious enough to make a claim or see a personal injury lawyer about?

Yes, especially if the symptoms are persisting and ongoing.

I caused the accident and I've been injured– Do I have any insurance cover?

Possibly.

Even if you caused the accident and if you have suffered serious injuries, you may be able to claim for income protection, partial permanent disablement (PPD), total and permanent disablement (TPD) from your superannuation fund or funds if you have multiple policies. Talk to your compensation lawyers about the options that are available to you.

If you also have trauma insurance you will be able to claim on this as well.

Some people also have an "At Fault" insurance policy with their insurer and if you have this type of cover, you may be entitled to recover compensation including substantial compensation. It is always worthwhile to check and see if you have this type of cover with your insurer and we can assist if necessary.

We are happy to assist you and investigate your potential claim on a speculative or No Win – No Feebasis. Click here to see the full terms of our "No Win – No Fee" policy.

You initial consultation with us is free and obligation free.

If we advise you that you have a strong claim, we will offer our services to you on a "No Win – No Fee" basis which simply means that we will only ever be paid for the work we have done, if and only if your claim is successful and only at the end of the claim.

In our experience 98% to 99% of the claims we pursue for our clients are able to be settled or resolved without having to go to court or proceed to trial.

How can a personal injury lawyer help me with my claim?

Do I need to see a specialist compensation lawyer?

Our expert motor vehicle and car accident lawyers will be able to advise you of your rights, entitlements and whether you are able to make a claim and how to maximise the benefits and compensation.

How can a lawyer help me with my claim?

Our car accident lawyers will be able to advise you whether you are eligible to make a claim and what benefits are available to you.

Are there any time limits for making a claim and what are they?

Time limits for making a claim

There are strict time limits apply to making a claim. Please read the following time limits very carefully.

Time limit to lodge the initial accident claim forms to the insurer

Generally speaking, you have 9 months from the date of the motor vehicle accident to have the claim form lodged with the insurer or 1 month from your first meeting with a lawyer (whichever is the earlier) about the claim. If you make the wise decision to seek early legal advice from us, we will take care of preparing the forms for you and make sure they are prepared correctly and lodged on time.

However, if you were injured by an unidentified vehicle or an unregistered vehicle eg. a hit and run accident or an accident caused by an unregistered vehicle, the time limits are much shorter and are strictly enforced by the insurer which is a Queensland State Government body called the Nominal Defendant. In this type case, you only have 3 months to lodge the claim form with the Nominal Defendant or 1 month from the date of your first meeting with a lawyer about the claim.

If you miss the 3 month time limit, you can still lodge the claim form with the Nominal Defendant along with a reasonable excuse of delay as long as the claim form with the reasonable excuse for delay is lodged within 9 months of the date of the accident. If you miss the deadlines with the Nominal Defendant, especially the 9 month deadline, your claim for damages will be lost forever.

The benefit of engaging a lawyer to look after you and your claim is that it immediately becomes the responsibility of your lawyer to take care of the time limits and to make sure the documents are lodged or filed on time.

Time limits summary

9 months from the date of the accident or 1 month from when you meet with us (whichever is the earlier) if the vehicle at fault is identified and with a current compulsory third party registration or current rego.

3 months from the date of the accident or 1 month from when you meet with us (whichever is earlier) if the vehicle at fault is unidentified and/or unregistered.

Commencement of Court Proceedings

You only have three years from the date of injury to commence court proceedings. If you miss this time limit, your rights to pursue damages or proper compensation will be or is most likely to be lost forever.

The benefit of engaging a lawyer to look after you and your claim is that it immediately becomes the responsibility of your lawyer to take care of the time limits and to make sure the documents are lodged or filed on time.

Summary of time limits for court proceedings

Court proceedings must be commenced within 3 years of the date of the accident otherwise your rights will be lost forever.

What if I suffered very minor injuries? What should I do? What can I do?

I suffered only minor injuries

If you have a very minor or trivial injury which will largely or completely recover or heal and if your claim has been accepted by the insurer, you may not or probably don't need to see a lawyer. However, your first consultation with us is free so we advise all our clients and potential clients to seek appropriate legal advice and at the earliest possible time to remove any doubt or worry about your rights or where you stand.

If I go ahead with a claim, how long will it take and how much will it cost?

How long will my car accident claim take and what will it cost?

If we advise you that you have a strong or viable claim, we will send you a proper written advice and a proposal. Our proposal will set out, in plain English, a realistic estimate of how long we believe your case will take to resolve and the likely cost.

Generally speaking, most compensation claims for motor vehicle accidents are able to be resolved within 6 to 18 months from the date of the road accident. If the case goes to trial (which is highly unlikely in our experience) this can add a further 6 to 12 months to the time estimate.

In the highly unlikely event that your case does go to court, understandably it will cost more than if it settles at an early stage, however, of all the cases we take on, approximately 98% to 99% are resolved or settled prior to going to court or well before going to court.

I have medical expenses and rehabilitation needs right now. What can I do?

Medical expenses and rehabilitation costs

Once your Notice of Accident Claim Form has been submitted to the insurer of the vehicle at fault, we can arrange for your reasonable medical and/or rehabilitation needs to be paid by the insurer.

Will my case go to court or will it settle?

In our experience over the past 60 years, very few cases end up in court. It is only something like 1% to 2% of all of our cases proceed to trial or end up in a court room.

Very few road accident claims require court supervision and the vast majority of these claims are capable of early resolution. This is what we aim to achieve as it keeps the legal costs down and maximises your 'in hand' outcome.

After we have investigated your motor vehicle accident compensation claim at no obligation to you, we will then make a decision about whether we would be prepared to act for you on a No Win – No Fee basis. At that time, we will provide you with a proper written advice regarding your prospects of success and whether we are prepared to act for you on a No Win – No Fee basis.

Under our usual terms and conditions, No Win – No Fee simply means that we if take your case on, we will only be paid a reasonable fee for the legal work we have done for you at the end of the claim and only if you win.

In the highly unlikely event that your claim goes to trial and in the even more unlikely event that your case goes all the way to trial and you lose, we will not seek to charge you anything for all of the work we have done for you.